Modelling the DN&SR

by Mikkel Kjartan

Introduction

The story of the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway is a fascinating study in ambition, manipulation and failure. The full story is too complex to recount here, but essentially, a small company's dream to build a line that connected the North with Southampton drowned in a much larger railway game between the GWR and the LSWR.

After much back and forth, the GWR ended up operating the line from Didcot to Winchester, with trains being forwarded from there to Southampton by the LSWR (and later the SR). The GWR part of the line was divided into two sections, the Northern section stretching from Didcot to Newbury, and the Southern section from Newbury to Winchester.

Whitchurch Station as it looks today, with the canopy removedPhoto courtesy David Wainwright

Design and layout potential

Compared to its neighbours, the M&SWJR and the S&D, the DN&SR has received rather little attention from modellers, and very few layouts seem to depict this line. Yet is has some considerable scope for modelling:

For one thing, the railway had a very distinctive style of is own: the two-storey stations were quite unlike anything else you'll find on most GWR lines, and can help make a layout that is a little different from all the rest, yet easily identifiable. Many still survive as abandoned or residential houses, and so can be visited and photographed if you're into that level of detail. An example can be seen in David Wainwright's photo of Whitchurch station building.

The line also had some interesting trackplans. In particular, there was a recurring pattern of trackplan (see example below) on many of the through stations that offers some quite interesting scope for layout operation. Moreover, the use of bay platforms at both Didcot and Newbury may be compelling to those who have very litle space but would like to model a cross-country line.

The history of the line also offers several 'might-have-been' scenarios if you don't want to model an exact prototype (see map of the line below). For the branchline modeller, there's a nice little line to East Ilsley which never materialized, as well as several proposed branches to link up with the surrounding GWR and LSWR lines. Apart from that, there's the actual independent line from Winchester to Southampon, which was commenced but never completed, as well as the more fanciful proposals for extensions towards Portsmouth and Bournemouth.

Moreover, there is scope for GWR/SR joint operations here. The two companies exchanged stock at Winchester, but a fictious joint station elsewhere on the line would also be quite plausible.

Map of the DN&SR

Compton Station Plan (A joins A)

Luggage label

Signalling tablet

Operation and stock

GWR 2-2-2 Queen Class: when retired from mainline services, the "Queens" were devolved to secondary working – including the DN&S line in the early 1900s.

The drawing is courtesy of Scorpio Models, who have a 7mm kit available for the Queen class.

In terms of operation, a great advantage for the modeller is that the line was mostly served by very short trains. The typical arrangement of a tender loco and 2 to 3 bogie coaches on each service means that you can model a cross-country line in a relatively limited space.

The line saw the use of some rather quaint locomotives over the years. Before the grouping in 1923, this was a GWR 'operated' line, meaning that it was operated by the GWR, but owned by the independent DN&S company. As a result, the GWR tended to allocate rather ageing locos to the line, which were redundant elsewhere.

This trend continued after the GWR take-over at the grouping, and was supplemented by larger more modern locos during the war-years, when the line became temporarily important. The table below gives an overview of the various locos used on the line through the years.

King's Worthy, c 1909, from the author's collection of prints and postcards

Rolling stock was perhaps less varied, and yet not without interest: Non-corridor clerestory coaches were used until the early 1940s, after which Collett steel stock took over. The short rakes were supplemented with occasional through coaches from Paddington, and – in the pregrouping period – also with stock from the Great Central and other Northern companies. Note also that the extensive horse traffic on the line provides a welcome excuse for the use of horseboxes of both GWR and 'foreign' origin.

Indicative list of GWR locos on the DN&S

Class

Type

Period

Notes

4mmModel

7mmModel

Ex-P&T

2-4-0

Pre-1900

Ex Pembroke & Tenby Railway

157

2-4-0

Early 1900s

Queen

2-2-2

Early 1900s

Scorpio

River

2-4-0

Early 1900s

Peter K

1661 Class

0-6-0ST

1900s

Sir Daniel

0-6-0

Late 1900s

Armstrong Goods

0-6-0

1900 -early 1910s

Nu-Cast

Scorpio

2361

0-6-0

1900 -early 1910s

Dean Goods

0-6-0

1900s-1910s

Blacksmith, Finney

Javelin, Finney, ABS

1076

0-6-0ST

1900s-1910s

Mainly Didcot-Newbury section

Gibson

Scorpio

517

0-4-2T

1900s – early 1910s

Mainly Didcot-Newbury section

Gibson

Mitchell, ABS

806

2-4-0

1900s-early 1920s

3226

2-4-0

1900s & early 1920s

2201

2-4-0

1910s

481

2-4-0

1910s

Stella

2-4-0

1910 -early 1920s

Finney

Finney

3232

2-4-0

1910 -early 1920s

Finney

Finney

Barnum

2-4-0

1910s -early 1920s

Blacksmith

3521

4-4-0

1920s

Falcon

Duke

4-4-0

1920s -late 1930s

Nu-Cast, Falcon, Blacksmith

Javelin

Ex-M&SWJR

2-4-0

Mid-1920s-1930s

Combined w. Lambourn branch workings

Nu-Cast

Metro

2-4-0T

1930s-1940s?

Mainly Didcot-Newbury section

Roxey, Finecast, Falcon

Acorn, Roxey

Bulldog

4-4-0

Late 1930s-1940s

Finney, Falcon

Finney

Collett Goods

0-6-0

Late 1930s-1940s

Bachmann, Finney, Finecast

Wagon & Carriage, Springside

28xx

2-8-0

1940s

Especially war years

Hornby, Westward, Finney, Falcon

Slaters, Wagon & Carriage Works

Hall

4-6-0

1940s

Once only – scraped the platforms!

Hornby, Bachmann, DJH, Finney

Springside, Finney

Railcar

n/a

1940s?

Didcot-Newbury section only

Lima

RJH

43xx

2-6-0

Late 1940s

Espec. Post-Nationalization

Bachmann, Mitchell

Mitchell, Springside

93xx

2-6-0

Late 1940s

Espec. Post-Nationalization

Bachmann

City

4-4-0

Post-1940s

Restored by BR and used frequently on the DN&S

Dapol, Nu-Cast, Finney

Javelin, Finney

Post-nationalisation operation on the DN&SR

Apart from the pre-nationalisation focus of the list above, Xpress Publishing have kindly provided a few additional notes on the post-nationalisation scene:

Hall and Grange 4-6-0s were permitted to run up to 40 mph between Didcot and Newbury and in an emergency at 20 mph from Newbury to Winchester

93xx engines were only permitted to use any part of the line in an emergency and at a maximum speed of 20 mph.

Twin-car railcars were permitted to work between Didcot and Newbury (but prohibited from using any sidings) whilst the 1940 series of single cars were permitted between Newbury and Winchester.

The 22xx 0-6-0s were used up to the 1960s and with the 43xx 2-6-0s shouldered most of the GW workings.

The SR-based services employed a Q1 0-6-0 (which did two return trips a day on the line), a T9 4-4-0 and a pair of BR4 2-6-0s. Q class 0-6-0s were also permitted throughout.

During the war the DN&S had been used for block oil trains, although after 1945 things went back to normal. In about 1960 Fawley refinery was opened near Southampton and when oil services to the Midlands were being planned, someone in the trains office at Southampton remembered the role the DN&S had played during the war with the result that many Fawley (and docks) services were run via Didcot.

DN&SR References

Although a fairly low-profile cross-country line, the Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway is actually quite well-documented, as can be seen from the list of references below.

DN&SR Books and Modelling articles

The Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway

Paul Karau et al, Wild Swan, latest edition: 2001

The most comprehensive all-round introduction to the line, with many photos and trackplans

A Historical Survey of the Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway

C.W. Judge, OPC, 1984

Good for the extensive trackplans and timetables. Little general info.

The Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway

T.B. Sands, Oakwood Press, 1971

Interesting details about the early history and the various proposals for extensions etc. No trackplans.

Didcot to Winchester

V. Mitchell & K. RobertsonMiddleton Press, 1998

Mostly photos, the majority from BR days.

Winchester (Great Western): A Snapshot in Time

K. Robertson, KRB Publications, 2002

Good 46-page account of the life and times of Winchester station.

Burghclere Signalman

K. Robertson, KRB Publications, 2002

38-page account of a single working-day in the life of a signal-man in the 1950s. Also a number of photos from Burghclere in BR days.

On Didcot Newbury and Southampton Lines

Kevin Robertson, Ian Allan, 2002

I haven't seen this one yet, but apparently a fairly extensive description of locations and train types on the line.

Winchester Chesil, GWR

Model Railway Journal No 9, 1986

Description of the superb P4 layout* of the Southampton area group of the Scalefour Society

Winchester Chesil, Revisited

Model Railway Journal No 41, 1990

A return to the P4 layout* of the Southampton area group of the Scalefour Society

* This layout is now on show, as a static exhibit, at the Milestones Museum in Basingstoke, run by Hampshire County Council.